Car-fender



J BOWEN. UAR FENDER.

(No Model.)

Sept. 10, 1895.

Patented Tries.

JAMES BOWEN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR FENDER.

SPEGIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 545,872, dated September 10, 1895.

Serial No. 553,638. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES BOWEN, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and use ful Improvement in Car-Fenders, which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification and accompanying drawings.

My invention consists of a novel construction of car-fender, which can be readily applied to existing cars without necessitating any change of the same and which is normally raised above the track, provision being made for allowing the same to pass over small obstructions without injury to any of its parts, while means are provided for holding the parts in their proper position before and after an object is struck.

It further consists of novel details of com struction, all as will be hereinafter set forth.

Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a carfender embodying my invention and a portion of a car to which the same is applicable. Fig. 2 represents a section on line a; m, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a detail view, on an enlarged scale, of the joint shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

Referring to the drawings, A designates the body of a car, the same being provided with a platform 13, dashboard O, and the wheels D, which run on the track E, all of the above parts being of the usual construction.

F designates suitable hangers which are attached to the body of the car and have pivotally mounted therein the frames G on either side, from the lower portion of which extend forwardly the arms H, to which are pivotally attached or hinged at J the forwardly-proj ectingarms K, whose forward extremities are supported and braced by means of the crossrod L, adjacent to which is suitably secured the buffer N, which may be of rubber hose or tubing or other similar yielding material.

M designates rollers which are journaled upon the arms K and are adapted to contact with the track when an object is struck so as to be thrown into the fender.

P designates a suitable netting which ex tends from the buifer N to the top of the dashboard 0.

Q designates springs which are located beby the same are normally always kept in the position seen in full lines in Fig. l. The preferred construction of the joint J employed is seen in Fig. 3, the same consisting of the tongue J, which is adapted to pass between the ears J below which latter are the shoulders J which are adapted to be in contact with the shoulder J the parts when in assembled position being held together by means of the bolt J and the nut J whereby it will be seen that any tendency to a downward. movement of the arms K relative to the arms H will be prevented by reason of the contact of the shoulders J and J but if a small obstacle strikes the buffer N a slight upward movement wiil be permitted to the arms K and cross-bar L, the parts afterward being restored to their normal position, as seen in Fig. 1, by means of the springs Q.

The upper extremities of the frames G have connected thereto an end of the rods S, which extend rearwardly and are each supported and guided in the ears T, which are secured to the under side of the car, said rods S being provided with collars U, which'are adapted to contact with one side of said ears T while the opposite side of the latter is in contact with the end of the spring W, the other end of the latter being in contact with a washer V, which is held in its proper place upon the rod S by means of the nut X, whereby it will be seen that by manipulating said nut, or moving said collar as desired, the tension of the spring W can be varied according to requirements.

The operation is as follows: The contact of the buffer N with a small object will simply cause the arms K and cross-bar L to swing upwardly a slight distance, and after the obstruction has been passed the springs Q will cause said arms to be restored to their normal and proper positions, their downward move ment relative to each other being limited by the shoulders J and J of the joint J, as has been stated. Should, however, the fender strike the body of aperson, the same will fall into the net 1? and the forward portion of the fender will descend sufliciently to cause the rollers Mto contact with the track, while any serious or violet shock or concussion will be prevented by means of the'spring IV, which normally holds the parts in the position seen in Fig. 1, the rollers M being normally above the track, it being evident that the rollers M may be mounted so as to follow the curvature of the track, and that when the weight in the fender is removed the springs W will cause the parts to assume their normal positions, as seen in Fig. 1. When economy of space is desired, it is only necessary to turn the arms K upwardly into the position seen dotted in- Fig. 1, it being noted that the netting is normally in advance of the draw-bar, as seen dotted in Fig. 1, so that the latter will not hit any person caught in said netting.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention, I insert a tube between theears T and washers V, upon which the spring W is supported, said tube thuslimiting the movement of said vwasher relative to said ear, as is evident.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Pa tent, is

1. A car fender consisting of framesmounted in suitable hangers on a car, arms pivotally attached to and extending forward from the lower part of said frames, springs connected to said arms and frame, and a'spring controlled rod connected with the upper portion of said frames, said parts being combined substantially as described.

2. In a car fender, frames suitably supported in hangers attached to the car, arms extending forwardly from said hangers, other arms pivoted thereto, also extending forwardly, means for limiting the downward movementof said arms, rollers mounted therc-= on, a bulfer, a netting, a rod extending rearwardly from the upper portion of said frames, said rod being suitably supported and guided, and having a projection on the end thereof, a spring intermediate the support of said rod and projection, and a collar attached to said rod and located on the other side of said support, substantially as described.

3. In a car fender, frames mounted in suitable supports, arms extending forwardly therefrom, other arms pivoted thereto, and having rollers journaled on the forward portion thereof, a buffer, netting, a spring adjacent the pivotal point of said arms, a rearwardly extending rod attached to said frames, a collar on said rod, a guide for the latter, a washer on said rod and a spring intermediate said Washer and guide, substantially as described.

4-. A car fenderhaving depending frames, each of said frames having the ears J and the shoulders J thereon, the arms K with tongues J and shoulders J bolts connecting said tongues and ears, and springs connected with said frames and arms, said parts being combined substantially as described.

5..A carfender having frames pivoted to suitable hangers, arms extending forwardly from said frames and pivotally connected therewith, springs connecting said arms and frames, and shoulders on said frames forming stops for said arms, said-parts being combined substantially as described.

JAMES BOWEN.

Witnesses:

E. H. FAIRBANKS, JOHN A. WIEDERSHEIM. 

